For breakfast I eat up my vowels, my a e i o u, to which I add from consonants a fricative or two;
After that I move my bowels then write as poets do, and frequently am quite surprised to feel a trill come through.

Wednesday 11 May 2011

Kupa Ası (Ace of Cups)
A little bit of Turkish: Sirke (vinegar) Bal (Honey) Sinek (Fly, the suit of Clubs in a pack of french suited playing cards) Kupa (Cup, Goblet, Trophy; the suit of Hearts in a pack of french suited playing cards)






Bir fıçı sirkeden ziyade bir damla bal ile sinek tutulur. 
One drop of honey is worth more than a vat of of vinegar to catch a fly.


The image of the Ace of Cups above is from a 1910 pack of tarot cards produced by Pamela Colman Smith for Arthur Edward Waite. For a modern reproduction I recommend the Pamela Colman Smith Commemorative Set.
Para Beşlisi (Five of Coins)
A little bit of Turkish: Olmak (to be) Etmek (to do, make; to be worth, to amount to) -sız (meaning 'without' ) -mez (suffix of negation)




beş parasız - lit. without five pennies, fig. penniless
beş paralık olmak/etmek - lit. to be/to do five pennies worth, fig. to expose shameful secrets
beş para etmez - lit. not worth five pennies, fig. of something that is trashy, worthless.


The image of the Five of Coins above is from a 1910 pack of tarot cards produced by Pamela Colman Smith for Arthur Edward Waite. For a modern reproduction I recommend the Pamela Colman Smith Commemorative Set.

Encased within the barber's cape my eyes fall heavy beneath the soothing stroke of brush and fingers and I am immersed in the vibrations of the buzzing clippers, the swift snip and snap of scissors tap-tapping against the teeth of comb, the puppetry of hand and head as he shapes me for the scrape of the razor, the intimate trimming of eyebrows, ears and nose. A flick of flame and smell of burning hair lift me out of my submersion. "Tamam?" he asks. "Çok iyi" I reply, "çok iyi".


clipped peeks
of the barber's bum
in the mirror




A little bit of Turkish: Berber (Barber) Ucun (the tip, end) -dan (suffix meaning from) Az (Little)


Ucundan azıcık
At the barber's "just a trim'.


lit. 'a little from the tip.'


Outside of the barbershop the phrase may cause some hilarity, not sure why, but I suspect it has something to do with circumcision.

Tuesday 10 May 2011

Para Onlusu (Ten of Coins/Money)
A little bit of Turkish: Mutluluk (Happiness, Well-being, Bliss) Zenginlik (Wealth, Prosperity, Riches) Aptal (Fool, Stupid, Idiot, Dumb) Rüyalar (Dreams) Bilge (Wise, Sage)




Zenginlik aptal rüyalar; Bilge bir adam, mutluluk.
A fool dreams of wealth; a wise man of happiness.


An alternative name for the Ten of Coins in Turkish:
Tılsımlar Onlusus - Ten of Talismans
The term 'tılsımlar' (talismans) is used on some RWS decks (and its clones) as a translation of 'pentacles'.


The image of the Ten of Pentacles above is from a 1910 pack of tarot cards produced by Pamela Colman Smith for Arthur Edward Waite. For a modern reproduction I recommend the Pamela Colman Smith Commemorative Set.

Dragons
My dragon’s woken up again,
and grown very big.
It’s riding on the hand-wagon
slick with oil and spit —
a genie from its bottle moans
do it do it DO IT!

My dragon’s woken up again,
and eager to dig: 
to bury stones like dogs with bones
(marrow sucked — flesh ripped).
In blood and dung the bottle, warmed,
is cracked: the genie… SPLIT.

A little bit of (rude) Turkish: Ejderha (lit. Dragon, fig. slang for Penis) Şişe (lit.Bottle, fig. slang for Anus)
El arabası (wheelbarrow, trolley, hand wagon/cart - 'to ride the hand-wagon' slang for masturbation) Fondip (lit. from the bottom, in drinking games, to drink a shot in one go; in sexual slang 'do it' (f**k me))

Benim ejderham, yine uyandı var
ve çok büyük büyüdü. 
O el arabası biniyor 
yağlı ve şiş ile kaygan - 
onun şişeden bir cin inliyor 
fondip fondip fondip!


A little bit more turkish: Şiş (Spit, Swollen, Skewer) Yağ (Oil) 
Inlemek (to moan) Yine (Again)

Monday 9 May 2011

Kupa Dokuzlusu (Nine of Cups)
A little bit of Turkish: Iyi (Good, Fine, Well) Olmak (to be)


The latin suit of cups may be related to the french suit of hearts, and thus the nine of cups to the nine of hearts, known as the wish card in cartomancy. 

Iyi diyelim iyi olalım
"Wish well, be well." May be related to ideas of affirmation, positive thinking.
lit. Let's say well (good, fine) and be well. Used as a response to the enquiry 'nasılsınız?' ('how are you?') and akin to the English response 'mustn't grumble'.

The image of the Nine of Cups above is from a 1910 pack of tarot cards produced by Pamela Colman Smith for Arthur Edward Waite. For a modern reproduction I recommend the Pamela Colman Smith Commemorative Set.

Thursday 5 May 2011

A little bit of Turkish: Anahtar (Key) Kapı (Door) Altın (Gold) Büyük (Big) Küçük (Small) Açık (Open)

Altın anahtar her kapıyı açar.
The golden key opens every door.

Her kapının bir anahtarı vardır.
For every door there is a key.

Küçük anahtar büyük kapı açar.
A small key opens a big door.


The image of the pope above is from the Tarot de Paris: a deck from Paris made in the first half of the 17th century by an unknown cardmaker.